SoFi Blog

Tips and news—for your financial moves.

If you’re a woman who would rather do almost anything than ask for a raise at work, know that you are far from alone. In a survey* of SoFi members, women responded that they are twice as likely than men to stay at their job indefinitely, rather than have an uncomfortable money conversation with their boss.

This is a big problem, since not negotiating can cost you dearly over the course of your career, both in terms of earning potential and self esteem.

As a negotiation and career coach, I’ve worked with many women—and men—who found asking for more to be an overwhelming task. Many women in particular have shared with me that they suspected they were underpaid but didn’t know how to confirm, and even if they did, how would they convey this to their manager?

Since we know this is a hot topic for our members, we’ve partnered with Mika Brzezinski, co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe and author of Know Your Value, for a fireside chat to ask her to share her best salary negotiation tips for women.

As a kid, there’s a strong chance you dreamed about becoming a doctor. In fact, according to Fatherly’s Imagination Report, becoming a doctor is the number one dream of young girls nationwide. It’s also the number one dream career for children living in the West and the mid-Atlantic, and second in the Great Lakes, Midwest, Southeast, and Southwest, according to Fatherly.

And apparently a lot of those kids actually followed through on their dreams, as more than 51,000 people applied to med school in the 2017 to 2018 school year. Of those applicants, more than 21,000 actually got in. (And if you’re wondering what it takes to be part of the 40% who got accepted, the Association of American Medical Colleges revealed that the average MCAT score for applicants was 501.8 in the 2016 to 2017 school year and 504.7 for 2017 to 2018. The average score for matriculating students was 508.7 in the 2016 to 2017 school year and 510.4 for 2017 to 2018. In other words, MCAT scores aren’t trending down.)

Upon graduation, these medical school students turned doctors can expect an average salary of $294,000 a year, and more if they follow through with a specialty such as becoming an orthopedic surgeon, a job which commands an average salary of $489,000. Or if they choose to live and practice in a state that pays medical professionals particularly well, like North Dakota, they can expect to make an average of $361,000.

If you’ve longed to pair your professional expertise with a cause that’s close to your heart, applying for a job within the nonprofit sector may seem infinitely appealing.

Focused on a social cause-driven mission rather than financial gain, nonprofit careers offer an opportunity to earn a living while working toward a shared philanthropic goal. Whether you’re committed to climate change, education, healthcare, or another worthy endeavor, chances are you’ll find an opening that matches your skill set, as many careers in nonprofit organizations mirror those in the for-profit arena.

From coveted executive director positions to critical roles in accounting or marketing, finding a spot that allows you to demonstrate and develop your talents shouldn’t be too difficult. But are you ready to make the move?

As a freelancer, you can live anywhere, plan your own schedule, and work on a wide variety of projects. On the flipside, all that freedom means it’s up to you to meet your income needs.

If you’re looking to land higher-paying freelance tech jobs, you may want to consider working with agencies. Often, agencies turn to contract workers with specialized tech skills—like engineers, developers, designers, and other creators—to supplement their in-house teams.

Freelance rates for designers and other technical workers can be all over the map. But, because agencies are highly motivated to keep their clients satisfied, they often pay competitively to attract the best talent for the job.

When someone mentions artificial intelligence (AI) in the form of autonomous cars or smart home hubs, people can’t get enough. It’s exciting to think about the possibilities of these innovations. But it’s rare that AI in the context of the job search gets as much attention or enthusiasm—especially when you only think of it as the “robots” you have to get your resume past.

But beyond that, what is artificial intelligence in the context of job searching? AI is utilized in almost every aspect of the hunt, from optimizing job postings to uncovering salary insights to, of course, resume scanning software and applicant tracking systems.

What does that mean for job seekers? According to Jennifer Zamora and Stacey Perkins, career coaches at SoFi and Korn Ferry Advance, there are pros and cons to artificial intelligence’s impact on jobs and your search—and there are ways to work with it successfully. Here’s a breakdown.

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